here.- Step 5: Cook.
- Step 6: ???
- Step 7: Profit.
Q: What about wet-aging? What is it, and does it work?
Wet-aging is simple: put your beef in a Cryovac bag and let
it sit on the refrigerator shelf (or, more likely, on a
refrigerated truck as it gets shipped across the country) for a
few weeks. Then tell your customers that it’s aged, sell it at
a premium.
The problem is that wet-aging is nothing like dry-aging.
For starters, there is no oxidation of fat in wet-aging, which
means that there is no development of funky flavors. A
minimal amount of flavor change will occur through
enzymatic reactions, but these are, well, minimal.
Additionally, wet-aging prevents the drainage of excess
serum and meat juices. Tasters often describe wet-aged meat
as tasting “sour” or “serumy.”
Wet aging can result in the same tenderizing and
moisture-retaining benefits as dry aging, but that’s about it.
In reality, wet-aging is a product of laziness and money-
grubbing. It’s easy to let that Cryovacked bag of beef from
the distributor sit around for a week before opening the bag
and calling it “aged.” When you are being sold “aged”
meat, be sure to ask whether it’s been dry-aged or wet-aged.
If the butcher doesn’t know the answer or is unwilling to